Follow Focus - Century Optics

K

klausbrandenburg

Member
Hi everybody,

has someone ever tried this thing. I just saw the add and the pictures look like you can't use matte boxes with the focusring clamped on. What about filters and other stuff I could place in front of the cam?

thanks for any kind of infromation : )

klaus
 
: )
Ok, since I'm not very happy with the Mattebox anyway I could get me a better one.
But what exactly is the advantage of the manual focus. I understand that the focus is fixed and that I can work with marks for example. On the other hand I could remember the numbers. Is there anything else the manual focus enables me to?
 
Three great things about the Century focus ring.

Three great things about the Century focus ring.

1. The great thing about the Century focus ring is that it gives you hard stops at infinity and macro. This means the focus ring doesn’t go round and round like it does normally on the DVX. This is important if you want to hit repeatable focuses.

2. If you have somebody pulling focus for the camera operator, they can mark the focus points on the white ring against the witness mark.

3. And you can splurge out on a follow focus unit so that the focus puller has a knob to twist, instead of racking the focus ring. (The gearing for the focus ring is at the front of the Century focus ring.)
 
Thanks a lot for the information. I guess I don't need this stuff right now, because I don't work with a crew yet. The thing that made me curious was the follow focus stuff, but with the zoom. The Manual zoom is allright when it comes to quickly jump in but to do it smoother I allways have to activate the servo-zoom. Is there something like a fluid for the dvx?
 
Is there anything else a manual focus enables me to?
Click to expand...
It makes you look cool. There really isn't a functional reason to have FF on DV unless
shooting at f/lengths beyond, say 32mm, for example..

Othrwse, depth of field is so deep there is little reason to employ a frst assist and a FF.
Still makes you look really cool, though.
 
The Manual zoom is allright when it comes to quickly jump in but to do it smoother I allways have to activate the servo-zoom.
Click to expand...

Lets make sure which camera you have. DVX100 has as its slowest zoom speed 15 Seconds.
DVX100a doubles that to 30Seconds. You can't change the speed without a different camera.
Those little controllers make you look cool and they do serve a good function by getting your
hands off the camera while zooming as you put the controller (Zoe') on your tripod handle. It
makes sense, but no, it won't make your zoom speed any slower than what the camera can do.
 
follow focus for manual zoom

follow focus for manual zoom

klausbrandenburg - i understand exactly what you mean. been wondering the same thing. i use the manual zoom extensively but really wish i could have the follow focus type control on it, that feel.

i'm gonna speak with the lovely people at birns and sawyer tomorrow and check into possible mods to the FF ring being applied to the zoom ring. let you know. :thumbsup:
 
Ah, finally someone that is asking the same question I was a few months ago. I, too, have to use the zoom when I am shooting from a tripod sometimes and actually moving the camera closer isn't an option, like shooting a band on stage where I am stuck at a certain location out of the way. I am looking for smooth ssllooww zooms that are hardly noticeable as far as speed is concerned. Slower that the motorized zoom can deliver. Therefore, I have practiced using my hand to ever so gently turn the zoom ring to give the slow creep zoom that I am looking for. It took me a while to master it, but I am now able to get what I am looking for but it takes a lot of effort on my wrist and hand. It would be so nice if you could have something like a follow focus except have it for zoom so you could have it geared down. Then you could be more precise on your zoom movements and be as slow, smooth and fluid as you want. Any ideas?
 
Friends of mine are asking me when I decide to purchase my matte box, if there able to borrow it for a week. Were trying to figure out why companies are charging so much money for a carbonfiber Matte Box and follow focus. with rails.
Do you think people would buy one for $200. Canadian?
Would you feel that your not buying quality if there were not a high price tag?
Remember, our matte boxes will have a full size french flag and barn doors.
Were wondering if people need brows, or not.
What is the altimate Matte box style, attachments, step up rings and ect.
rkmarty@telus.net
 
The reason people charge so much for a matte box is partially because they can, and partially because matte boxes are a specialty item. Any time you have a precision instrument like a follow focus that the average joe isn't going to buy, the price inevitably goes up. As for me, the price has nothing to do with me feeling like I am buying a quality product. The quality has everything to do with that. If someone was selling a 200 dollar matte box and it was not well built and functional, then not many people would buy it. If it was well built, and functional, of course alot of people would buy it. Take the formatt 500 matte box for example. I think it comes in at around 300 dollars if I'm not mistaken. Although it may not have all of the features of other matte boxes, I have heard alot of people like it.

Now, I don't own a matte box, so what I am saying could be completely bogus, but I am just relating this to other experiences and specialty products I have purchased.

A follow focus is a whole other thing. I don't own one either, but from observation, it seems as though the tolerances involved are pretty tight, and everything has to be pretty high quality for the thing to work right. And there you have the cost thing again. Tight tolerances+high quality+low demand= High prices.

Although a matte box and follow focus with rails setup may be overkill for DV, and alot of it just looks so cool, I can imaging at least for me that the physical position of a follow focus would be alot more comfortable then lense barrell focusing. That's just me though. And honestly, I have gotten by fine without it until now, so I don't think I'll be needing one any time soon.

Thank you for listening to my 6:45am nonsense
 
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